


And the Forest Fire

by hamelott



Series: And the Natural Disasters [2]
Category: The Librarians (TV 2014)
Genre: Fire, Forest Fires, Gen, Natural Disasters, Wildfires, are you sensing a theme yet, jake whump, poor child
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-18
Updated: 2017-06-18
Packaged: 2018-11-15 11:28:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11230011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hamelott/pseuds/hamelott
Summary: Prompt: Dear friend, Here's a prompt if you're ready for one: part two of natural disasters. Yes it is I, the natural disaster anon. You just did so well on the first one I had to come back for more!part 2 of 'how much can jacob stone get messed with in 1 fic'





	And the Forest Fire

**Author's Note:**

> the only kind of fire experience i have is a house fire and i’m like 92% sure that a wildfire is a completely different experience so if you’ve ever experienced a wildfire first of all: good job to u for living and secondly: i’m literally basing this on my personal experience and a multitude of google searches so a thousand apologies for any inaccuracies :P

“It’s so hot out here,” Ezekiel whined. “Can we go home yet?”

“Not yet,” Flynn muttered, studying the map he had open in his hands. Eve was looking over his shoulder, eyes trailing over it. “We’re almost there.”

“Almost  _where_ ,exactly?” Cassandra asked. She would never admit it, but the sun was getting to her too. She’d also made the mistake of wearing long pants instead of jeans, and while the trees around them provided some shade, the hot, stale air was taking away any bit of coolness that shade provided. “You never did tell us where we were going…”

“That’s because it’s a surprise,” Eve said, trying to keep her voice bright and cheery. Even she had started to sweat, and her footsteps were becoming less chipper and more grueling. “Plus, this is good for you! Fresh air, hearts pumping, legs moving; tomorrow you’ll be glad you did it.”

“But I hate hiking,” Ezekiel muttered. He too had made the unfortunate mistake of wearing jeans and two layers of shirts and was panting heavily despite the good shape that he was in.

“I don’t mind it,” Jake said, bringing up the rear of the team.

“That’s the spirit!” Eve shouted back to him, throwing him a thumbs-up.

Ezekiel rolled his eyes. “Don’t be such a suck-up, Stone. You’re hating this too. Hell, you’re working harder than the rest of us!”

It was true. Jake had drawn the short straw and had been forced into becoming the team’s pack mule for the day. A giant backpack that was nearly bigger than Ezekiel was strapped to his back with various clasps and buckles. Luckily, he’d been smart enough to wear shorts and a light t-shirt, but he was beginning to feel the strain of the heavy load on his back and the harsh sun above them.

Not that he’d ever admit to it, of course.

“We’re almost there,” Flynn reassured the team once more. “It’s just a little bit further along the trail.”

“And what was the point of all of this?” Ezekiel questioned. “Couldn’t we just, oh I dunno,  _use magic to get there_!”

“Where’d be the fun in that?” Eve asked. She looked over her shoulder at him and grinned. “Plus, we’d miss out on all of this great team bonding!”

“Ripping the team apart s’more like it,” Jake grumbled to himself. Cassandra, who was in front of him, looked over her shoulder and smiled ruefully at him, clearly overhearing what he’d said.

They walked in a tense silence for a few more minutes before Flynn came to a sudden halt, causing Eve to run into him. Ezekiel, who’d been paying attention, stopped and rolled his eyes, not bothering to try and help steady Eve as her and Flynn stumbled forward a bit.

“We’re here!” Flynn announced when he’d straightened himself out and made sure that Eve was sure-footed once more.

She frowned, looking around. “We, uh, we are?”

They were still on the hiking trail and there was nothing around them save the forest and the trees that resided in it. Oddly enough, there were no birds or their songs either. If Jake didn’t know any better, he would’ve said they were completely lost.

“We’re lost, aren’t we?” Ezekiel asked, crossing his arms over his chest. Flynn, frowning, looked back down at the open map, biting his bottom lip worriedly.

“Oh boy,” Cassandra sighed, sitting down on a nearby log. Ezekiel joined her, slumping and muttering under his breath in annoyance.

“Don’t worry,” Eve said, bending over the map too. “We’re not lost.” She glanced back up and jerked her head to Jake. “Get over here, Stone.”

Jake nodded and walked up to them, taking a look at the map as well. He studied it for a few seconds before sighing and reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose. “You’re kiddin’ me, right?”

“What?” Flynn demanded, studying the map closer to look for the thing that Jake had obviously found. He flipped the map around to look at it from the direction Jake had but still looked confused. “What’s wrong?”

“Flynn,” Jake ground out, ripping the map from his hands. He flipped it around and shoved it towards Flynn, shaking it viciously. “This map is from 1956, dude!”

Flynn’s face fell. “Where…Where do you see that?”

“The print date!” Jake snapped, tapping the small list of numbers in the corner of the map. “They’ve probably changed the layout of the trails since then.”

Flynn’s eyes widened. “Oh.”

Eve let out a long, frustrated breath and took a step away from them. “You know, Flynn, for the smartest man in the world, you can be so stupid sometimes.”

“I-I’m sorry!” Flynn spluttered. “But, hey, you looked at this map too and didn’t see anything!”

“Because I trusted you to be able to catch something like that!” Eve retorted.

“Well, excuse me for trying to have a fun trip!” Flynn snapped. “I was too busy getting everything prepared that I must’ve just forgotten to check!”

“It’s a print date from the 1950s!” Eve shouted. “Where do you even get a map from the  _1950s_ , Flynn?!”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe there’s this huge building that we work in that has artifacts and relics from the beginning of time that I could’ve accidentally grabbed the wrong map in!” Flynn shouted back.

“Guys,” Ezekiel called from where he was sitting. Eve and Flynn didn’t hear him over their arguing, and Jake looked too frightened in between the squabbling couple to try and interrupt them. “Guys!”

“ _What_?!” the two snapped, turning on Ezekiel.

The thief was holding up his phone. He rolled his eyes. “I’ve got GPS, y’know. Just tap in wherever it is that we’re going on here.”

“Oh,” Flynn murmured. He stepped forward and swiped the phone from Ezekiel, beginning to type on it. “Well, that works. Good work, Jones.”

“Whatever,” Ezekiel said, shrugging.

“Oh, perfect!” Flynn said, holding up the phone triumphantly. “We’re not too far from our destination. We’ve just got to keep on this trail a little longer. Let’s go, crew!”

He set off again. Jake glanced at Eve and huffed, “The  _1950s_ , Baird.”

Eve sighed, looking two seconds away from bashing her head against a tree. “I know, Stone.” She turned a bright smile onto the other two. “You heard him; let’s get going crew!”

She set off after Flynn, and the rest of her Librarians reluctantly followed.

They’d only walked about twenty meters when Flynn came to a halt again. Eve, who’d been paying better attention this time, stopped too and snapped, “What now? Have we reached our destination or is Ezekiel’s GPS from the 1700s?”

“Shh!” Flynn hushed her, and Eve looked like she was about to hit him before he quickly said, “I think something’s wrong.”

“Yeah!” Ezekiel shouted. “We’re out in the middle of a forest when we could be at home with a cold glass of iced tea in our hands!”

“Quiet!” Flynn snapped, and his serious tone made everyone hold their tongues. Flynn was only ever this serious when he thought they were in real danger, and the team could recognize this well enough to understand the severity of the situation. “Do you smell that?”

The sound of sniffing loudly filled the air quickly, and it was Jake who nodded first, fists clenching. “Smoke.”

“We need to keep moving,” Flynn said. He glanced at Ezekiel and waved the phone. “Can I make calls on this? We may need a Backdoor.”

Ezekiel shrugged. “I dunno; you can try, mate, but I bet reception out here is spotty at best.”

Flynn nodded jerkily and started to walk again at a quicker pace, tapping away at Ezekiel’s phone before bringing it up to his ear. He huffed in frustration before he lowered the phone again. “It’s a no go.”

“I can do it,” Cassandra said, sounding a little unsure. “I mean, I can try. After Jake and I got caught up in that hotel with all the, uh, frost giants, I worked on a homing spell for the Backdoor. I can get it to work…hopefully.”

“You’re gonna have to,” Jake said, voice low. “Look.”

The team stopped and turned in the direction Jake was pointing in. They were on the side of a mountain and down below them they could see dark, heavy smoke in between the trees, quickly spreading uphill.

“Shall we run?” Flynn suggested.

Eve was already shoving him down the trial, shouting, “Go!”

They raced along the hiking path, making sure to stick close together. Cassandra was already muttering incantations under her breath, and a slow ball of magic was forming in her hands. Jake wasn’t quite sure when she’d started getting so good at it,  _especially_  after the promise they’d all made after defeating Apep, but he wasn’t about to question her now, promise or no promise.

Eventually the team reached the end of the hiking path into a large clearing. In the clearing was a large, two-story cabin. Flynn drew to a halt, bending over his knees and panting heavily. He flourished with one of his hands and sang, “Tadaa!”

“What’s this?” Ezekiel asked, face scrunching up in confusion. Cassandra pushed past him and darted towards the front door of the cabin, pressing her palms flat against it, and continued to mutter her magic spell.

“Your surprise,” Eve explained. “We wanted to give you guys a little vacation…so much for that.”

“Cassie!” Jake shouted. “You got that Backdoor ready?”

Black smoke had reached the trail several hundred yards behind them. The wind was pushing their way, and Jake knew it would only be a matter of minutes before the smoke was upon them and after it, the fire.

“Almost!” Cassandra shouted. She yelled a few more final words, and a bright beam of white-blue light lit up the doorframe. “I think I got it!”

She yanked open the door, careful to keep her hands on it, and shouted, “Okay, go! I’m not sure how long I can keep the connection!”

Eve shoved Ezekiel through the door first, and he disappeared, hopefully landing safely in the Library beyond. She pushed Flynn through it after him, and the bright light flickered after he fell through, showing a flash of the cabin’s living room before coming back again.

“Baird, you next!” Jake shouted. She looked uncertainly between him, Cassandra, and the wall of smoke encroaching on them quickly. “I’ve got her, go!”

Eve nodded to him before she jumped into the bright light too.

Cassandra glanced worriedly at Jake. “I’m not sure I can hold it, and it’ll be gone the moment I let go of this door.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got a plan,” Jake reassured her, beginning to undo all the buckles that held the giant backpack against him. He walked up to her and rested a hand on her shoulder, glancing behind him. “Okay, we’ll jump together, yeah? We’ll be fine.”

“O-Okay,” Cassandra murmured. Without letting go of the door, she positioned herself in front of it, ready to jump in. “On the count of three we-.”

“Three!” Jake shouted, shoving her through the door. She yelped and tumbled through, disappearing into the white light. Jake managed to jump too and groaned loudly when his face hit a soft, carpeted floor. He quickly looked up to find the living room of the cabin sitting in front of him. “Oh hell.”

~~~

Eve quickly got to her feet, sighing in relief to find the Library standing around her. Ezekiel, a few feet away and phone already in hand, was already on his feet and wiping off the sweat from his forehead. When he noticed her, he grinned and said, “Hell of a vacation, Baird.”

Flynn, who’d apparently fallen on his face after Eve had shoved him through the door, groaned from the floor before he flipped over and muttered, “To be fair, that wasn’t the  _exact_  vacation we had in mind.”

Eve jumped away from the door when Cassandra tumbled through it, quickly reaching out to catch her before her face met the same fate Flynn’s had. She frowned, confused, when the Backdoor slammed shut behind Cassandra and the glowing light faded away. “Uh, where’s Stone?”

Flynn sat up at that, and Ezekiel looked up from his phone, eyebrows knitted together. Cassandra wrenched herself away from Eve and began tugging at the Backdoor handles, shouting, “No, no, no, no, no! He wasn’t supposed to do that! I could’ve held it open for both of us long enough!”

“What do you mean, Cassandra?” Eve asked, taking hold of her hands and positioning Cassandra in front of her so they could meet eyes. Cassandra’s were already filling with tears as she shook her head. “Where’s Jacob?”

“H-He pushed me,” Cassandra told her. “He pushed me and tried to jump, but  _I told him_. I told him the moment my hands came off of the door, the portal would close, but he pushed me!”

“O-Okay, okay, it’s fine,” Eve stammered. She stepped past Cassandra and over to the globe to begin to position it. “We’ll just open the door really quick, pull him through, and it won’t be an issue. It’ll be okay.”

“No, it won’t,” Flynn rasped, stepping up to her. He grabbed her hands and shook his head forlornly. “The Library won’t open the Backdoor to that location again until it knows that it’s safe; it’s why it slammed the door behind us instead of leaving it open.”

“So, what, Jake’s just trapped there?” Ezekiel demanded. “That’s ridiculous! The Library wouldn’t do that!”

“It would to protect the rest of us,” Eve said, realization dawning on her. Her hands started to shake in Flynn’s.

“We can’t just leave him there!” Cassandra protested. “He’ll die!”

Flynn sighed, hanging his head. “I don’t think we have a choice.”

~~~

Jake did the first thing that came to mind: Run.

“Shit, shit, shit,” he cursed under his breath as he scrambled to his feet and began unbuckling the backpack quicker as he raced past the side of the cabin. He needed to get the large building between himself and the fire; it was made from wood, yes, but it would serve as some kind of barrier for a short amount of time before the fire overtook the surrounding area.

He yanked the backpack off and began to rummage through the bag, praying that Flynn had been as over-prepared as he always seemed to be. Jake yanked out a first aid kit, a canteen already filled with water, an umbrella, some jackets, bug spray, sunscreen… _found it_. Jake quickly pulled out a thin, aluminum fire shelter that he knew wildfire firefighters used. He had no clue how Flynn had gotten his hands on one, but he wasn’t about to start questioning it.

Jake took a quick survey of the land surrounding him and found something that he could use for further protection. He sprinted over to a nearby rocky streambed and went about setting up the fire shelter.

Jake had never been happier about living in Oklahoma than in that moment. While the forests there weren’t as prone to catching fire like the one’s in Washington, Jake had experienced some wildfires of his own. He’d never been directly in one before, but as a precaution, his dad’s business had been required to put each one of its oil workers through the training of protecting oneself in this exact circumstance.

So, Jake knew that he had to spread the fire shelter over himself thoroughly, lying face down on the ground where the air would be cleanest.  He then used his elbows, knees, and feet to pin down the aluminum blanket against what were bound to be strong winds.

It was only a few minutes later when the wave of heat hit him. The fire and the wind that accompanied it roared above him. He could hear nearby trees bursting into flame wish a whoosh. Debris and embers fell on his back, but the protective shelter kept them from burning him. He tried to knock them off while being careful to keep the shelter pinned to the ground. At one point, a flap pulled up and heat and smoke quickly spilled into his protective cocoon before Jake could slam it back down to the forest floor again.

He wasn’t sure how long it lasted, but after a couple of minutes the heat seemed less intense and he could no longer hear the sound of the trees catching fire. Hesitantly, Jake peaked from beneath the fire shelter. Around him, little pockets of fire still clung to the trees and dry brush, but it wasn’t the wall of fire that he knew had just gone over him. The nearby trees were scorched black, and the ground around him was a charred mess.

Jake crawled out from beneath the fire shelter, careful he didn’t put his bare hands on any open flame or embers. When he was free, he got to his feet and pulled his shirt collar over his mouth and nose, trying to suck in some smoke-free air. He knew he needed to find a way out of the forest quick, or the past five minutes of survival would mean nothing in the face of smoke inhalation.

A few yards away, he could see that the cabin had caught alight. The backpack he’d spent all day lugging around had been turned into a black, charred pile of cloth that was still burning. He searched around for any other exits and nearly collapsed in relief when his eyes landed on a toolshed that lay not too far away. It was streaked black around the sides, but the brick walls had stood up bravely against the intense flames.

Jake reached down, grabbed the thin piece of aluminum that had just saved his life, and stumbled over to the toolshed.

~~~

“How much longer?” Eve questioned. Her arms were crossed over her chest as she paced in front of the Backdoor.

Ezekiel and Cassandra were hunched over the globe that controlled the Backdoor, trying to hack it with a mix of technology and magic. Both of them had frustrated looks on their faces, so Eve was forced to assume it wasn’t working as well as they had hoped it would.

“Eve,” Flynn said softly. He was standing to the side, face pointed towards the ground. He’d never admit it to anybody but Eve, but he felt guilty. The trip had been his idea. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t checked the possibility for a wildfire in that area. “Eve maybe-.”

“No,” Eve snapped, rearing on him. She pointed a shaking finger at him. “I’m not giving up.”

“ _Eve_ ,” Flynn tried again, but she had resumed her pacing. “The type of heat he just went up against would’ve been deadly. There’s no possible way he could’ve survived that. Look, we’ve already informed the park rangers of the fire. M-Maybe they’ll find him, but even if they do, he’s going to be dangerously injured. He may not want-.”

Flynn was cut off when the Backdoor began to sputter and flicker with lights. Eve turned to Cassandra and Ezekiel, but both shook their heads in confusion; neither of them had made any progress. Which meant the Library was trying to open the Backdoor and help them out.

Eve quickly wrapped her hands around the handles and yanked the doors open, nearly shouting in shock when Jake fell through it. He was coughing and covered in soot, but he didn’t appear to have any fatal wounds or burns. Eve didn’t hesitate in dragging him in and closing the Backdoor quickly behind him.

“Jacob?” Flynn said, startled, walking up to him. Without waiting for a response, he began to quickly circle around Jake, looking for any injuries. When he found nothing, he stepped away with a perplexed look on his face. “You’re…alive.”

Jake laughed at that, but he quickly dissolved into a coughing fit. He nodded, and when he got his breath back, said, “Yeah, barely.”

“We need to get him to a hospital,” Ezekiel said, standing up. The others looked at him, confused, and he quickly added, “Well, he obviously inhaled smoke. That’s not good for his lungs.”

“I’m fine,” Jake said, waving the team way quickly. He stepped away from Eve who was trying to reach out and grab him. “I’m serious; I’m okay.”

“Someone call the park rangers and tell them we found our man,” Eve said quickly.

Ezekiel raised an eyebrow. “You mean tell them that a man in the middle of the forest somehow made his way back to us during a wildfire?”

Eve frowned. “Uh, good point.”

“But how are you here?” Cassandra asked, stepping up to Jake. “I mean, how are you even alive? That shouldn’t be possible.”

“Uh, Flynn, actually,” Jake told them, turning a grin on the man. “Seriously, dude, you are so over-prepared sometimes.”

Flynn frowned. “What do you mean?”

“That backpack had a wildfire fire shelter,” Jake explained, nodding to the aluminum shelter on the floor that he’d dropped when he’d tumbled through the Backdoor. “Luckily I took a training course in how to set one up back when I lived in Oklahoma. Saved my life, man.”

Flynn’s frown deepened. “I didn’t pack that bag; Eve did.”

Jake turned to Eve to thank her, but she shook her head too. “I didn’t pack it. I found it that way.”

“So, who packed it?” Jake asked.

They all turned to Cassandra when she laughed giddily. Jake raised a questioning eyebrow at her, and she grinned. “Isn’t it obvious? Like you said earlier, Eve, the Library protects us.”

Eve slowly smiled and shook her head. “Yeah, I guess it does.” She slapped Jake on the back. “Well, good work, Stone. You’re definitely the first guy I’d call in a crisis.”

Jake grinned. “Thanks, Baird.”

She squeezed his shoulder and wandered off, muttering to herself about learning how fire shelters worked.

Flynn grinned at Jake. “Well, uh, sorry about all that, but, yeah, what Eve said. Good job, Jacob.”

He awkwardly reached up to ruffle Jake’s hair before giving him another brief smile and sprinting after Eve. Jake watched him go, a reluctant smile of his own tugging at his lips as he shook his head after the man.

Cassandra walked up to him next, pulled him into a hug, and then stepped back to punch him in the shoulder. He winced and stepped away from her, saying, “What the hell was that for?”

She pointed a warning finger at him. “That’s what you get for making me leave you back there!” She pulled him into another hug. “I’m glad you’re okay though, you dolt.”

She pulled away and walked out of the room. Ezekiel ambled up next and rolled his eyes. “I’m not hugging you.” He bit his lip and looked around nervously before saying, “But I am taking you to the hospital.” He held up a hand when Jake started to protest and added, “And you don’t get a choice. I’ll literally knock you out and drag you out of here if I have too. Trust me; smoke in the lungs is not good for your body. We’re leaving in ten.”

He reached out, timidly patted Jake on the shoulder, and walked away, pulling out his phone to begin tapping on it wildly.

Jake sighed and was about to follow when something made him pause. He looked around the room and awkwardly said, “Uh, thanks I guess.”

He cleared his throat and added, “But next time can your saving be a bit more, I dunno, direct? Like, let’s avoid all the fire and stuff?”

The lights flickered above him, and the room shook.

“Okay, okay, never mind!” Jake shouted, quickly walking out of the room. As he was walking out the door, he muttered, “Ya freak.”

He yelped when the door slammed shut behind him and raced down the hall to catch up with Ezekiel.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there, thanks so much for reading this! I really hope you enjoyed because a lot of (read: a bit) research went into making this puppy! As I said before, sorry if you catch any inaccuracies as, luckily, I've never been caught in the middle of a wildfire before. Again, thanks for reading!!!


End file.
